Wednesday, May 20, 2026

And So “The Drama” Begins with $1.7 Million Box Office Previews For Dark Zendaya-Robert Pattinson Non Rom Com

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“The Drama” has begun.

Robert Pattinson and Zendaya opened last night in a movie that seemed like a rom com but is a dram-com.

Box office was middling to meh with $1.7 million. It couldn’t have been too expensive to make, so a $10 million weekend would be okay.

But social media reaction to the film from the first audiences was puzzling. The people who posted were mostly turned off after they realized what the movie was about, and it’s not cannibalism.

It’s a seriously weird turn between the two main characters as one confesses previous thoughts of doing something violent. It’s like “When Harry Met Sally” and she passed on pastrami and substituted it with rage — and a pickle.

How will “The Drama” fare over the weekend? They’ve got some good crowds already booked for tonight. But that’s the power of these two new generation stars. Hard to say if that will carry the film for more than the short term.

PS There was a last minute premiere for “The Drama” last night — second night of Passover — at the down in the heels Regal Union Square. Like a lot of premieres in NY these days, the red carpet featured a lot of people you’ve never heard of, posing as if they were celebrities. I don’t know what the photographers do with these pictures. Sell them to the grandparents?

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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